


Max Intro

by ivarara



Series: Maxis [1]
Category: Warframe
Genre: idk what else to tag this im New, operator backstories, warframe operator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 01:40:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17478824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivarara/pseuds/ivarara
Summary: Introduction to Maxis, my operator.





	Max Intro

Things have gone wrong.

She sits up slowly, beginning to gather in her surroundings and the severity of the situation. The multiple slices and scrapes on her body protest at the movement. Fortunately, no Infested have found the location (yet).

She’s alone. Battered, bloody, scared. The place is silent, save for the occasional blood-curdling screech of the Infested that meander through the barren setting. The only sound is the blood rushing in her ears, quickening as it sinks in: abandoned. Unsure of the exact circumstances that led up to the present dilemma.

Nearby. Something stepping on one of the twisting, consuming vines lining the floor. The sinking dread is promptly interrupted with genuine fear, terror. There’s no way for her to fend for herself, not with being unarmed and overall worn out and exhausted. Still, she hides, scrambling into a nook as quickly and gingerly as she can. Holding her breath as much as bruised ribs will permit, sitting as still as possible with hands trembling in terrified anticipation.

The being grows closer, footfalls becoming more prominent. Whatever the approaching threat is, it’s quadrupedal. Eyes shut tight, stray tears clearing shining paths through the dirt and blood on her face.

It’s here. The footsteps stop mere feet from her hiding place. But no Infested claws shear the air; no shrieks ring through the room. A familiar huff of air. This isn’t an Infested beast, far from it. It’s the closest thing to comfort she’s finding in the moment.

Her trepid, soft, raspy voice calls out to it. A head snaps up, ears flicking to pinpoint the source. Ragged, blunt claws scrabble across the once-pristine white floors in a flurry of motion. Ungracefully, it launches itself into the temporarily-inhabited spot, writhing not in anger, not fear, not hunger.

It’s excitement. Happiness. Joy. All out of place in the grim, dreary building.

Despite the excited flailing of legs and tail agitating bruises and cuts, she still nearly cries in relief. Reaching one arm out to wrap securely around a panting, squirming neck and chest. Fending off an assault consisting of a wet nose and tongue. A furiously wagging tail stirs up dust and light debris. Soft, excited whines and whimpers resonate through the stale air. Belatedly, she thinks of how contrasting the moment is compared to the circumstances causing it.

No matter. She’s no longer alone. Fingers clench into dirty black fur, seeking comfort; a way to ensure that the kubrow isn’t just a hallucination. The resulting increase in tail-wagging and face-licking quickly reassures her.

No longer alone, but isolated nonetheless.  
The duo warily peer out of the safety of the dark. Still, no other signs of life. With caution, they fully exit.

The surroundings are no less comforting accompanied and exposed than they were hidden and solo. The air is stale, nothing to stir up the dust motes flittering daintily through the space. The floors, once pure and accented with golds, are instead strewn with thin, creeping, persistent tendrils of the Infestation crawling steadily across the flat expanse. Dry vines, broken glass, and chunks of the beautiful walls and ceilings crunch underfoot, pronouncing each footstep made. Occasionally, they pass lights mounted on walls, attempting to bask the area in light, instead mingling with the dirty air to create a dreary glow.

It doesn’t feel right. She knows it wouldn’t make sense to wish things back to normal, to wish away the overgrowth and debris back to the pristine, ever-perfect setting it once was. Shouldn’t think back to the empire that utilized her and the likes as mere weapons to do their bidding and take care of their own failed machinations.

Their footsteps predictably crunch the debris littering the floor, despite efforts to move silently. Soft bootsteps mingle into soft padding and clicking of nails on the tile. The overgrowth rustles as chunks of the crumbling walls succumb to wear and tear. Murky puddles of clouded water and rotted leaves provide the occasional soft spatter as their feet pass through, temporarily leaving faint footprints behind.

It’s slow going—there’s frequent pauses to listen for any other noises that would alert of other things moving about. There’s difficulty determining which sounds are just the echoes of the environment settling into its decaying state, and which may originate from other sources in the area: the occasional hiss from feral kavats meandering through, the intermittent traps strewn about infrequently activating, the distant sounds of the scattered conflicts between the Infested and whatever beings are brave [or unlucky] enough to gather their ravenous attention. 

Thankfully, any of the conflicts sound distant and isolated, well out of range to become immediate hazards to the two.

As they wander the once-grand halls and rooms, they eventually lose track of the path taken. They peer into yet another endcap room, almost completely obscured by the growths all too common to the location. Old, abandoned storage lockers glow faintly underneath the branches and vines, too buried to be accessed. Dormant sentries are concealed by the tall weeds that rise out of cracks in the foundations.

Their ambling eventually draws them closer to commotion; they’re suddenly bottlenecked in a passageway blocked by the confrontations between Infested and Grineer soldiers. The fretfulness settles in quickly and forcibly. The hackles of the kubrow raise in a sinister way, settling into a cautionary and protective stance, low growls barely audible over the rattling gunfire, vehement shouts and inhuman snarls. Uncertainty leaks into her mind. Do they retrace their steps, and hope they’re not followed? Do they attempt to scramble past the feuds, possibly becoming ensnarled in the action themselves?

The decision is ultimately decided for them—before either option could be considered and chosen, the turmoil rounds the corner before they can hide away. She’s left staring down the barrel of a rickety gun wielded by one of the cloned soldiers, others filing in and taking a similar stance upon seeing the two. The blood drains from her face and leaves her deathly pale, eyes wide in surprise and fear. The kubrow’s growls evolve into full-out snarls, teeth bared and ears pinned back. When one of the soldiers starts towards them, she quickly reaches out to grab the kubrow and haul him back, away from the possibility of instigating any additional hostility in the tense hall. The guns quickly train onto their movements, following the short action. She shrinks back and away, trying to placate the situation by somewhat indirectly showing that they’re not about to fight nor flight.

After moments that are spent tense enough to be palpable, the firearms are lowered slightly and the soldiers step back enough to let the commanding officer (or so she guesses) noticeably stand out. They carefully take in the two, sweeping over them to confirm that they were no threat in their current state.

“Not as confident without a Warframe between us, hm, Tenno?” they sneer, looking down at the pair.

There’s no verbal response, only an ashamed glance away from the soldiers.

The commander’s gaze shifts from the battered operator to the still-bristling kubrow adjacent to her. As if sensing that the attention was focused on him now, his ears flatten impossibly further as lips curl to show jagged teeth. He shifts marginally closer to her, crouching lower over her lap as if it would shield her from the scrutiny.

“We’ll bring them back with us,” the commander called over his shoulder. “I doubt they will put up much of a fight with the state they’re in.”


End file.
